


I Will Find You In The Dark

by borrowedphrases



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Captivity, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, Rescue, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 15:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9131134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borrowedphrases/pseuds/borrowedphrases
Summary: A rescue Shiro never thought would happen.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Velvedere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velvedere/gifts).



> What if Keith ends up Galra, but not because of his heritage.

The first thing Shiro sees is a glowing pair of yellow eyes. They pierce through the darkness of the cell, demonic in their alienness, but somehow deeply familiar in a way he can't place. Around him the ship lurches suddenly, and he hears crackling voices through the communicator in his helmet. Static and the rushing of his own pulse in his ears makes the voices barely intelligible. He knows it's his team, or most of it, can pick out Allura's voice from the others, but he can't focus on the shape of the words, on their meaning. The room around him, despite being shrouded in darkness - or maybe because of it? - is familiar to him on a deeply terrifying level, making his skin itch and crawl, making his body break out in a cold sweat his suit works to alleviate. Everything seems to hum around him, and the walls feel like they're closing in.

With a flash of acidic purple the room becomes more illuminated, and it takes Shiro much longer than it should for him to realize that it's the glow of his own prosthesis activating. The room is vacant except for its one occupant, not even a bunk for the prisoner to sleep on. In the dim light Shiro can see heavy gouges scraped into the walls, deep and violent, with streaks of something - probably blood - smeared along the metal around them. The bones of small animals litter the floor, along with more traces of blood. It's not a cell, it's a cage; a place to keep something wild and unable to be tamed.

Shiro fixes his gaze on the creature pressed up against the far wall, its lithe frame hunched forward, clawed hands and feet scrapping along the floor with subtle, twitchy movements. The glowing eyes and furred complexion say Galra, but there's very little intelligence in the gaze, and the posture is undisciplined and animalistic. 

There a rattle and clink of chains when the creature moves, shuffling forward closer to Shiro. Shiro raises his Galra arm, but lowers it again when the creature reaches the end of its tether, grunting softly and painfully when its collar tugs at its throat. Even in the poor light, Shiro can see that its fur is matted and dark around the collar, and there are scratches along its neck and clavicle. It offers up a soft whimper, one hand coming up to claw at the collar, and Shiro's heart lurches with sympathy.

"Hey, easy. Easy." Shiro tries to soothe, holding his flesh and blood hand out, palm facing up, as he inches closer. "You're just going to hurt yourself more that way."

A low growl of warning comes from the creature, but it cowers, rather than poises to lash out. Shiro winces as the ship gives another lurch from the combat ranging outside, the crouches down closer to the creature's level, humming softly. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

The creature's mouth works a few times, opening and closing, a too dry looking tongue darting out to lick at chapped lips. There's a soft raspy sound, and then another, slightly louder.

Then it speaks. "Sh... iro?"

Dizziness grips at Shiro's head, his vision beginning to tunnel. He's not on the ship anymore, not crouched down offering his hand in friendship to a wild animal. He's back in his lion, spinning out of control and desperately trying to get her to respond to his motions and commands. Alarms blare around him, screams from his team near making his ears bleed. Amidst the chaos one voice echoes louder than the rest, shouting for them to go, to get out of there, to leave without him. There's a scream of agony, and then that voice is abruptly cut off, the silence quickly filled by the others shouting his name.

"Keith." Shiro manages to pull himself out of his memories, drag himself forcefully back to the present. This isn't an animal in front of him, not some wild creature. He would know that voice anywhere, even dry and ragged as it is. And the familiar shape to the eyes... _now_ he knows what that is. 

The creature - _Keith_ \- whimpers softly again, and gives a nod that rattles the chain linking his neck to the wall. Shiro can't move fast enough, bridging the distance between them and dropping to his knees hard enough to bruise them. He cups Keith's face in his hands, barely able to see him through his own tears. He feels something wet against his thumbs, and realizes that Keith is crying too.

"Keith, what did they _do_ to you?" Shiro practically sobs as he leans forward, pressing his forehead against Keith's. The fur feels strange against his brow, against his palms, but Shiro doesn't care. Whatever he looks like, whatever has been done to him, he's still Keith and he's alive and that's all that matters. "Never mind, don't try to answer that. We can talk later."

Shiro shoves his emotions back so he can concentrate on getting Keith out of the painfully tight collar, dragging one glowing finger along the metal. He smells burning hair, and hates himself a little when Keith hisses in pain, but it's all he can do for him right now. 

The collar clatters to the hard floor, and Keith's weak little body collapses against Shiro, arms looping around his middle and clinging to him as tightly as he can manage. There's barely any strength left in him, and Shiro wonders if Keith will even be able to walk.

"I've got you." Shiro whispers, agony in his voice. He glides his palm over Keith's matted hair a few times, kisses his temples, then cups his face between his palms again. "I'm going to get you out of here. You'll be safe soon."

Shiro kisses him then. Presses his lips to Keith's chapped ones. Keith is broken and filthy and alien in his arms, but Shiro doesn't care. It's been months since he's held him, months since he's kissed him, months of thinking him _dead_. Months of sleepless nights with new terrors, Keith's screams echoing in his half dreams. Months of twisting in his own sheets until he could barely breathe. Months of wandering the Castle until his feet inevitably led him to Keith's vacant room, into Keith's cold bed. Months of not sleeping much there either, but at least there he could be still, could hate himself a little more coherently. 

"I love you." Shiro says, lips still resting against Keith's. Because he hasn't said it in months, and they have a long way to go before they're safe. 

"Still?" Keith asks in a dry whisper as Shiro lifts him up into his arms. He rests his head against Shiro's shoulder, unable to hold his head upright without it lolling. Shiro's Galra arm glows against Keith's back, warm and gentle, his flesh and blood one hooking under Keith's knees. He's barely more than fur and bones, and Shiro feels his blood boil with renewed hatred for Zarkon.

"Always." Shiro says with as much certainty as he can, meeting Keith's alien eyes steadily so Keith knows, so he can _see_.

Alarms blare around them as Shiro rushes out of the cell.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://borrowedphrases.tumblr.com/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/borrowedphrases)


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